New study finds lithium in wastewater from Marcellin Shale fracking

SALEM, Ohio — University of Pittsburgh researchers recently discovered large deposits of lithium stored in waste gas and oil brine from the Marcellus Shale rock formations that could be used to create clean energy technologies.

Lithium is a lightweight metal commonly used in batteries that power electric vehicles and in clean energy networks such as solar and wind farms.

The study suggests that 40% of the lithium used in the United States can be found in wastewater from unconventional Marcellus shale oil and gas drilling in Pennsylvania. Currently, that wastewater—which often contains harmful chemicals—is injected back into the ground via injection wells.

Justin Mackey, a researcher at the National Energy Technology Laboratory and a doctoral candidate at the University of Pittsburgh, says extracting lithium from this wastewater could be a valuable energy source.

“If we can make home batteries out of this water, which would otherwise be considered a toxic waste stream, I think that would be a win-win,” Mackey said.

Research journey

Mackey discovered the potential for lithium in the Marcellus shale in 2017 when he was tasked with collecting water from unconventional wells to send for chemical analysis.

While doing this work, Mackey realized that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was collecting a lot of data that was not available to the general public, so he began submitting requests for information to the DEP.

Initially, he and others at NETL analyzed the data to determine well integrity for oil and gas operations. But what interested Mackey the most were the lithium concentration loads stored in Marcellus Shale wastewater reported by oil and gas producers.

Mackey’s statistics suggest that lithium stored in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale could supply the United States with 3,000 metric tons per year. His findings are groundbreaking as the U.S. grows in demand for clean energy technologies, and with them, domestic lithium production.

High demand

Lithium has been considered a critical mineral since 2018 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. This means it is a non-fuel mineral that is essential to the nation’s economy and national security, and specifically to the country’s goal of transitioning to clean energy.

Lithium-ion batteries power electric vehicles, cell phones, laptops and clean energy technologies such as solar panels.

Currently, less than 1% of lithium is mined in the U.S., and only one active lithium mine is in Nevada. The U.S. sources lithium from countries such as Australia, Chile, Argentina, and China, which are the world’s largest lithium producers.

However, U.S. demand for lithium is expected to grow to 340,000 metric tons per year by 2032, according to estimates from the International Clean Energy Council. The Biden administration also wants 50% of U.S. cars to be electric by 2030, and all lithium to be produced domestically.

“Lithium demand in particular could be 500 times greater than current demand,” Mackey said. “If everything is going to be electrified, we’re going to need a lot of batteries, and we need them to be affordable. Marcellus as a source of lithium could play a role in … finding those resources that we need.”

Since 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has committed more than $15 million in research and development to use lithium as a feedstock from waste brine.

An untapped source

Mackey’s study focused solely on lithium storage in the Marcellus in southwestern and northeastern Pennsylvania, but Marcellus rock formations in Ohio and West Virginia could further increase potential domestic lithium production.

Wastewater from other rock formations across the country also contains lithium. A recent analysis by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy found that California’s Salton Sea region could contain enough lithium to support 375 million electric vehicle batteries. The Smackover rock formation in southern Arkansas also contains high concentrations of lithium in its briny wastewater.

Mackey says the next steps toward domestic lithium production are to continue developing technologies to extract that lithium while understanding the impact the process could have on the environment.

One company in the Marcellus has already begun extracting lithium from wastewater. In 2023, Eureka Resources, a wastewater treatment company based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, announced that it had successfully extracted 97% of lithium carbonate from brine waste, with a 90% recovery rate.

However, lithium extraction can be a dangerous process because it is a toxic metal. If it leaks, it can contaminate water sources and air and harm human health.

The Marcellus tailings in particular contain toxic heavy metals and may be highly radioactive. For this reason, Mackey stressed the importance of further study.

“We need to develop lithium extraction technologies that are tailored to the Marcellus deposit to make sure that occupational safety and environmental safety are the top priority and focus,” Mackey said.

While Mackey believes the Marcellin shale could be a way to expand domestic lithium production in the U.S., he says extracting lithium from waste brines is not a solution to the climate problem.

“It is still a waste product from fossil energy extraction. There is a risk of greenwashing, of tying it up as a solution,” Mackey said. “Right now it is wasteful. We are not making batteries out of it, we are just recycling it and putting it back into circulation.”

(Liz Partsch can be reached at [email protected] or 330-337-3419.)